


The Sanctuary’s Compass

by adlerobsessed



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: Treasure Hunting, lots of near death sequences as there should be, tombs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-02-23 12:51:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13190463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adlerobsessed/pseuds/adlerobsessed
Summary: Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain have both been members of the Sanctuary, a group focused on protecting and discovering mythological and historical artifacts and sites. But when they are drawn into a race against time to find a weapon of the Ancients before a weapons-dealer intends to sell it to fund his war, their lives will never be the same again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is an au based of all the great adventuring games/films like uncharted/tomb raider and of course Indiana Jones.  
> Bit of backstory, The Sanctuary is a secret organisation based on finding and protecting mythical artifacts and sites, e.g. temples.  
> All of the Skul gang is a part of it mostly, with their parents having been previous members as well.  
> Valkyrie, who grew up with her uncle, joined after her uncle’s death as she was threatened into finding a mythical object named “The Scepter”. With the help of the crew, she managed to find the object but prevent from falling into the wrong hands and soon became partners with Skulduggery.

The blast misses his head by inches, hitting the crumbling pillar which had been a makeshift shelter, forcing him to duck, swearing as he goes.  
“I thought you were distracting them, Cain!”  
“Working on it!” A voice crackles through the earpiece before cutting off with a painful screech. He curses again, quickly reloading his gun. Trust the Hollow men to only have ancient guns stored in their bases. He was surprised it still fired.  
Another blast forces him to jog hurriedly along the collapsing ruins, crawling behind a barely standing table. He spots a ladder disappearing up into an old sector of the underground temple, only about eight feet above. He’ll have to hurry.  
He slings the gun over his shoulder, checks to make sure the area is clear for now, and races out of the cover of the table and leaps up onto the first rung of the ladder.  
He takes it two rungs at a time and throws himself into the derelict temple, as he dodges the incoming round of shots. He flattens himself against the one somewhat stable looking wall to protect himself, bracing at each impact the blasts made.  
He sneaks a look from behind the wall, out of the window and spots the shooters in the opposite buildings, grotesque green and white skin standing out from the dark grey of the ruined city. He twists back around, takes a deep breath and readies his gun.  
But just before he steps out into full view, gunfire echoes across the street. He halts his movement, listening to the cries of the creatures shoot out over to him.  
Then silence.  
He cautiously leans out, into view. Nothing.  
“Told you I had it sorted. “  
Skulduggery whips around so quickly he slips over, landing on the floor, hand over heart. “Jesus Christ, Cain.”  
The woman grins. “I scared you?”  
“Anything else you’re going to surprise me with?”  
“No. It wouldn’t be surprise if I told you.”  
He holds up his arms in defeat. “Why did I ask?”  
He picks up his fallen gun, straightening out his leather jacket. A slight roll of the head and he’s ready to move.  
They continue to move up the temple, hopping from one crumbling staircase to the other. The collapsing interior is claustrophobic, closing in on him from all angles. He keeps going.  
By the time they’ve reached the top, he’s surprised that there’s still daylight peeking in through the slits in the wall. He sees Valkyrie aim her grapple rope at a protruding piece of stone and his stomach plummets.  
“Oh, hell no. We’re not doing that. You know I hate that.”  
She rolls her eyes. “Stop being a baby and hold on.”  
Leaving no room for an answer, she grabs his arm and swings the rope onto the stone length. She jumps without warning and suddenly they’re in the air and then tumbling onto the opposite, tipping dais of the temple. He groans, clutching his stomach.  
“Next time, warn me, so I can lay off the doughnuts.”  
No reply as she crouches down behind the dais’s broken wall. She peers out and beckons him over. “You see it now?”  
He kneels next to her, arms resting on on the edge. And the sight before him takes his breath away.  
In the middle of the room, was a stone altar, sigils and runes hammered in. But lying on the top was a golden goblet, more exquisite than anything he’d ever seen.  
“The Cup of Ra.”  
Valkyrie stays silent for a moment before grinning. “First one there gets seventy-five percent.”  
She launches over the wall, him cursing her as she goes. He follows afterwards and they both race towards the altar.  
But just before they reach it, as Valkyrie steps close to the altar, a tile suddenly clicks and visibly goes down. They both freeze. And then the platform begins to tip.  
They grab on, Skulduggery managing to catch the cup as it falls and puts into the box safely clipped to his belt.  
“Climb!” Valkyrie suddenly shouts, as she looks down. He makes the mistake of doing so.  
Because rapidly approaching as they fell towards the ground, was a floor inlaid with violent spikes ready to rip them apart.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time Skulduggery gets over his shock, the platform is almost fully vertical and is starting to tip over. He hurriedly starts digging in his picks, throwing himself up in haste.   
He sees Valkyrie reach the top and watches her flip herself onto the over side. He quickens his pace and he nearly reaches her when he hears a slight crack as he drives his pick into the stone and suddenly one of his picks snaps.  
He cries out, swinging dangerously out to the side. He manages to hang on with both hands on his remaining pick.  
“Pleasant, get out of here!”  
He glances around trying to find a handhold. Nothing.   
“You’re going to have to jump.” Valkyrie says, eyes flashing with fear.  
“What! No way, there’s no way I’ll make it.”   
“I’ll grab you, trust me.”   
She holds out her hands. He takes a deep breath. “Don’t drop me.”  
He crouches against the wall and and launches himself up. He nearly reaches the top and Valkyrie’s hand manages to grasp his right forearm.   
He quickly grasps onto the edge with his over hand and pulls himself over.   
“We’re never doing pyramids again.” He states, catching his breath.   
Valkyrie ignores the comment, taking of the weapon slung over her shoulder.   
“You remember me saying I wouldn’t spoil the surprise? Surprise ruined.”  
Skulduggery frowned at the weapon before his eyes widened. “You found a rocket launcher?!”  
“I’m guessing Americans were here before us.”  
Skulduggery watches as she points the launcher at the nearest wall.  
“The tourists aren’t going to be happy.”  
Valkyrie shrugs, saying, “I never liked them anyway.”, and pulls the trigger.  
The wall bursts open, the stones falling out to the open air. Valkyrie slings it back over her shoulder and turns to him.   
“Shall we?”  
They both leap through and suddenly they’re sliding down the side of the pyramid, the bright sun’s rays lashing at their eyes.  
They reach the bottom in a massive tumble, landing at several wide-eyes tourists feet. But Skulduggery barely pays attention, instead hearing the roars coming from inside and the sudden stampede of footsteps following.   
He grabs Valkyrie from the ground, already breaking into a run. “Come on, we’ve got to go now!”  
They race into the mountains of sand swarming them at all sides.  
“Where are they?” He curses looking blindly around as the roars draw closer. A blast suddenly flies past their heads and they swerve paths to dodge the incoming attack.   
“Look, there!” Valkyrie cries, drawing his attention to the green truck driving past at the devil’s pace. They both head in that direction, Skulduggery hanging his arm over his eyes to protect them from the massive clouds of sand slipping past him.   
The truck’s boot doors open and suddenly a tall, straight faced man emerges, carrying a machine gun about half his size. Hopeless.  
He rests it on the tripod fixed to the floor of the truck and begins to fire at the creature behind them.  
Skulduggery looks behind and sees the first wave of Hollow Men fall, with the second wave about fifty feet behind.  
The truck slams to a halt and Valkyrie clambers in, with him all but leaping in as well.  
“Go, Go, Go!” Hopeless shouts and their suddenly crashing into the wall of the truck as it surges forward at breakneck speed.  
Ghastly looks from the driver’s seat at them, smiling. “Well, what did you two get yourselves into?”  
Skulduggery laughs. “A whole load of money, that’s what.”   
He takes out the goblet from its resting place and chucks it at Hopeless.   
“Money, indeed.” Hopeless agrees.   
Skulduggery doesn’t reply, leaning against the side of the truck and catching his breath.   
“We’re not doing pyramids again, unless it’s you two who go in.”   
“If you’re too scared, sure.” Hopeless states, with a completely dead face. Skulduggery makes a disagreeing noise but doesn’t argue with it.   
“I’ll drop you two off at the airport. We’ll take care of it from here.” Ghastly says, speeding through the desert.   
“Thanks, Ghastly. God, I need a shower.” Valkyrie complains.   
“I have to be stuck on a flight with her?” Skulduggery says in amusement.  
“Don’t cry to me, I’m stuck on a flight with you.”   
Hopeless frowns then nods. “Fair point.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all being so supportive of the story already! I hope you enjoy these chapter and have a great start to 2018! Also, I'm just starting to think of some ships to add in this story so please comment any you would potentially like to see.

The airport was bustling by the time they’d arrived back in Dublin, the Cup of Ra already been delivered to the buyer, leaving them with a hefty cut.  
“I got a call while you were getting our luggage.” Valkyrie commented, looking out into the sea of arriving citizens as they made their way towards the exit.“Oh? Anyone we know?”  
“Not we. You.” She replied, walking out the door and heading towards the carpark. Skulduggery waited until they’d got in the Bentley before saying, “Spit it out then.”  
“Erskine Ravel, one of Gordon’s associates as well, I believe.”  
He smiled at that, reversing out of the space and started to drive out of the carpark. “Erskine? God, it’s been awhile. Wonder what he could want.”  
“I told him we could meet him in a hour, at my place.”  
“What’s wrong with mine?”  
She raised one brow. “Besides being a pigsty? I’m no cleaner myself but at least I can tell where the floor is.”  
“Well you’re a cheat. You have a cleaner.”  
She glared, turning to the window.  
“Oh don’t get grumpy with me now, Cain. We’ve got to survive a whole car journey.”  
No response.  
He sighed, focusing fully on the road. “Well, alright then.”

Skulduggery pulled into the gravel drive, the dark manor looming over them. He got out, and walked to the other side, intending to open the door for Valkyrie.  
“I can open my own doors, thanks.”  
“Sorry for attempting to be a gentleman.”  
She looked at him incredulously, causing him to throw his hands up in surrender. “Okay, I know how that sounded.”  
She huffed, opening the boot and tossing a suitcase at Skulduggery, eliciting a yelp from him.  
“Alright, gentleman, be a good boy”  
She marched up to the black lacquered door, pulling out a key from her jacket’s pocket, and unlocked the door, quickly turning on the lights. Skulduggery followed her in, lugging both suitcases and leaving them to the side of the hallway.  
Valkyrie had already disappeared to the kitchen, indicated by the sudden noises of packets opening.  
“Coffee?” She called, as he pulled off his weathered leather jacket, hanging it up on the rack on the side of the wooden panelled walls.  
“Sounds great!” He answered, making his way into the living room and promptly flopped onto the plush sofa. He relaxed into the soft cushions, so unlike the hard ground that had been their bed for some weeks now.  
Skulduggery grabbed the small leather-bound book left open on the small oaken side table by the sofa and returned to the first page, titled, “The Iconology of the Old Kingdom.”  
By the time he was through the first chapter, Valkyrie had returned, bringing two steaming mugs of coffee, as dark and strong as she usually made it he realised, after taking a sip.  
“I need a shower. If he arrives, just shout.” She said, hands clutched over her own mug. He smiled and gave her a small toast with his.  
“Go, I’ll handle it.”  
She left without another word, abandoning him to the silence of the house. He continued his reading, until soon his eyes were so tired, the words began to blur into one another. He began to doze off when a sudden loud sound of the knocker being used echoed through the house.  
Skulduggery started upright and hurried to the door. He unlocked all the bolts and swung it open to reveal a young, fair-haired man, armed with a simple briefcase and an expensive-looking suit.  
“Erskine! Come in, come in,” Skulduggery greeted, opening the door wider and allowed the man to step inside, “It’s good to see you again.”  
Erskine smiled just as freely. “And you, Skulduggery. How long has it been, two, three years?”  
“Four, I think. How’s things been going?”  
“As good as they can be in these times. But, that’s what I’m here to speak about. Is your associate here?”  
“She’ll be down in a couple minutes, if you don’t mind waiting. Drinks?”


	4. Chapter 4

By the time Valkyrie had finally rid herself of all of the grime and dirt she’d acquired over the past weeks, she could hear voices downstairs. So, she quickly chucked on a simple white top and some grey tracksuit bottoms she’d found in her drawer.  
She hurried down the polished oaken steps, tying up her wet hair as she went, and entered the living room. There, she saw Skulduggery and the man she assumed was Erskine, sitting on the sofa. As she approached closer, Skulduggery’s eyes snapped onto her.  
“Cain! Meet my dear friend, Erskine Ravel. Erskine, this is Valkyrie Cain, my partner.”  
Erskine shook her hand. “It is wonderful to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you from Ghastly and the others.”  
She gave him a rare smile. “And you, too.”  
Erskine walked over to the table, putting down his briefcase. He unlatched the silver clasps and opened the case. Both Valkyrie and Skulduggery had followed him over by then and saw the laptop resting inside the snug layers of cushioning.  
Erskine lifted it out, quickly powering it up, and soon began to draw up a series of photos. The first, contained the image of an old, weathered man, eyes dark and cold.  
“Do either of you know this man?”  
Before Valkyrie could answer, Skulduggery replied, “Scarab, Dreylan Scarab, right?”  
Erskine nodded. “Correct. Renown leader of mercenaries, Scarab is infamous to the underground. Recently, one of our contacts managed to uncover that he and his merry band of thugs have been hired by a very particular kind of client.”  
He clicked onto the next image, revealing a shaky, mostly blurry picture of a dark-haired man, with striking emerald eyes.  
Valkyrie’s heart fell into her stomach. “Serpine.”  
“Indeed. It would seem he’s been searching for a rather valuable object for the past months. The Parashu of Shiva. He’s enlisted these mercenaries to find the way to the place where it’s hidden and will probably follow after. Doubtless, he intends to sell it and further his master’s cause, selling weapons.”  
Valkyrie gently pushed him to the side and flicked through several images, coming to rest on one of  a temple, Hoysaleswara, she believed.  
“I’m guessing you want us to intercept the item before he does.” Skulduggery said, crossing his arms. Erskine nodded. “You would both receive a generous sum of money in repayment I can gu-“  
Skulduggery waved away his reply. “We’ll take the money, but that isn’t the only reason I’m doing this. If we don’t stop Serpine and his funding of terrorism, these wars could go on for many more years, costing thousands of lives. We’ll do what has to be done.”  
Erskine sighed in relief. “Well thank God, that’s a great comfort. I can have both of you on a plane to Bangalore tomorrow morning.”  
“I’ll assemble the team then.”  
Erskine grimaced. “I’m afraid, that won’t be happening.”  
Valkyrie frowned, standing upright once more, slamming the laptop shut, causing Erskine to wince.  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean, that this is not the only desperate endeavour Serpine is engaging in. Your friends’ assistance is required elsewhere.”  
“But this is at least a three man job, if not four?” Skulduggery protested, “If you want this to succeed, we’ll need that at least.”  
“And you will. Your third companion is already there, he arrived around two days ago to gather supplies and the like. He’s chosen the fourth, who will be promptly arriving after you I’m told.”  
“Who is he?”  
Erskine hesitated. “Solomon Wreath.”  
Skulduggery stomped out of the room, swearing under his breath.  
“Let him go sulk. We’ll be on that flight in the morning, you have my word.” Valkyrie assured him.  
“Thank you, Valkyrie,” Erskine paused before nervously stating, “You must not take this as an insult but I have to say, I was surprised to hear of you two being partners.”  
“Why would that be a surprise? We’re both in the business, we trust each other. What else would we need?”  
“Oh, I wasn’t surprised that you were partners, simply that he had one again. After the last one, well.. safe to say, I thought he was put off the idea.”  
Valkyrie glared at him defensively. “The last one? What are you talking about?”  
Erskine seemed startled by the question. “You mean he didn’t tell you? I’m shocked. Well, let’s say things didn’t work out.”  
“They died?”  
“No. Though he would probably think more favourably of her if she had. No, she’s still out there, somewhere, I’m sure. But just pray they never cross paths again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, our adventurers set out on the journey!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Skulduggery remembers the past. After this, we shall be heading to Bangalore!

Skulduggery pulled the carved skull of the alcove, twisting it to the side. A painful grating noise sounded, the door shuddering upwards, revealing stone steps leading into the dark. He walked into the stairwell.  
He finally reached a well-lit room, filled with bookcases and tables overflowing with maps. However, it was the hanging frames, above the marble fireplace, that caught his attention.  
Skulduggery headed over to the nearest one, running his finger along the dusty plaque, revealing the words, “The Sanctuary, May 2012”.  
“You’re going to have play nice when we reach Bangalore. I won’t have the both of you causing the failure of the mission.” Valkyrie’s voice startled him, he could never hear her arrival or coming footsteps.  
Skulduggery groaned at her words, but didn’t reply. Valkyrie came to stand next at him looking at the photo.  
“Solomon’s an utter bastard.”  
“He’s a useful bastard.”  
Skulduggery frowned. “Since when have you two got along so well?”  
“Since we first met. Now, stop whining about it and just accept that he’s part of this, okay?”  
Skulduggery looked at the floor in fury for a moment before finally giving in. “Fine. But if he makes so much as one wrong move, I’ll shoot him in the head.”  
“I’d expect nothing more.”  
They both looked at the photo once more, Skulduggery going over each face. Ghastly and himself were in the front, Hopeless standing awkwardly to the side. Dexter Vex and Saracen Rue, close friends of theirs, stood just behind, along with Anton Shudder.  
Another few faces, ones he’d almost forgotten were there, including Gordon, Valkyrie’s late uncle, and Corrival Deuce, an ex-officer of the army, who’d been missing for several years.  
And of course the smug bastard in question stood in-between Ghastly and Gordon, smirking at the camera. Solomon Wreath had always been a rather unreliable ally, the two of them butting heads whenever they crossed.  
“You’ve aged terribly,” Valkyrie commented, “How old were you? Twenty, twenty one?”  
“Twenty,” he confirmed, “And to be fair, I’ve been through a lot.”  
He laughed bitterly. “Jesus, we were just kids, barely even out of school. None of us had seen what the world was really like. How it will turn on anyone the second they’re vulnerable.”  
Valkyrie laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “We’ll get through this. We always do.”  
Skulduggery ran a hand through his hair as he breathed out deeply. “That’s not what I’m worried about. I know we can survive. I’m worried that we won’t make it to the Parashu before Scarab and his men do.”  
Valkyrie was quiet for a moment before replying with, “Well, we’d best be prepared then.”

Somehow, Valkyrie managed to find a map of the region, showing Bangalore and all the way to Halebidu. She grabbed an idle pencil and sketched a line along  the main road.  
“There should be a bus going from Bangalore to Halebidu. Once there, we should check out Hoysaleswara.”  
“What is Hoysaleswara?” Skulduggery asked, coming around to her side of the map.  
“You didn’t study India?”  
“You know I’m much better with the Ancient Greeks and Romans.”  
She smirked. “Fine. It was built during the Hoysala Empire, dedicated to the deity, Shiva. My guess is, there’ll be some clue as to the location of the Parashu.”  
“Parashu being..”  
Valkyrie rolled her eyes. “You really didn’t pay attention, did you?”  
“No.” He admitted unashamedly.  
“It’s the sanskrit word for battle axe. Apparently, Shiva gifted it to Parashurama, an avatar of Vishnu, who became a great warrior.”  
“We’ll have to be prepared though. Doubtless, Scarab and his men will be sniffing the same trail, and they’ll have had longer to search the temple.”  
“Agreed.”  
She left the room soon after, and he stood once again in front of the photo.  
The photo fitted badly into the frame, a wide gap on the side exposing the wall, as if the photo had been folded over many times. He took it off the peg and slid out the photo from the frame. He stared at it for a moment before folding it neatly and putting in his trouser pocket, before leaving the room.


	6. Chapter 6

The streets of Bangalore were bustling when they arrive. Valkyrie winced under the unmerciful sun, driving her sunglasses further up her nose.  
Skulduggery stood next to her, rotating the map in his hands several times before finally settling on a position.  
“The meeting point should be only a couple minutes away.” He informed her, tucking away the map into his pocket.   
She nodded, shouldering her duffel bag over her shoulder, and they began to walk down the street, dodging enthusiastic street vendors and the like.   
They turned the corner and Skulduggery pulls her into a side alley. They crept along, coming to a small archway which they passed through and turned the corner once more to come across a quaint little street.   
A sudden buzz sounded from her pocket. She unlocked it and opened the message.   
“Red door, Room 146.”   
She turned her head to look down the street and soon spotted the door, Skulduggery following after her.   
She stepped inside, the tinkling bell laughing behind them as the door shut.  
The beady eyed woman at the desk frowned at them and muttered in bad english, “Want room?”  
Valkyrie looked at the keys lying in the desk and pointed at one saying, “146?”   
The women glanced at it and quickly passes it over.  
“1st floor. Man waiting.”  
Valkyrie approached the rickety staircase, gripping onto the weak bannister. They reached the next floor and walked through the corridor until they came across the room.   
She twisted the key in the lock and walked inside cautiously, whipping her head from side to side as she looked around the deserted room.   
She let her duffel bag slide off her shoulder, onto the ground, as she pulled out her gun.  
“Well you two are a sight for sore eyes.”  
They both span around, to see a man leaning in the doorway of the bathroom, a smirk perched on his lips.  
Skulduggery walked over suddenly and stared at him. He proceeded to punch wreath squarely in the jaw.  
Wreath, being Wreath, managed to retain the smirk, rubbing his jaw in an attempt to ease the pain.  
“Well, it’s definitely you, Pleasant. You hit as hard as ever.”  
“That was for scaring me,” Skulduggery said, glaring, before punching him again, “And that, was for being an arsehole still.”  
Wreath paused for a moment before nodding. “I deserved that.”

The three of them sat at the rickety table, maps and lists strewn about.   
“I’ve got us seats on the bus tomorrow, we should arrive sometime afternoon,” Wreath informed them, leaning over an image of Hoysaleswara, “And from what I could gather, Scarab’s mercenaries have split up into two groups. One at the temple, another scouting the nearby landscape of the Ghats.”  
“Do you know how many?” Valkyrie asked.  
“Hard to say. They’ve managed to lie low mostly. My guess is, the ones at the temple are simply on guard duty. Serpine probably brought in an expert to look for any hidden signs in the temple to the location of the Parashu.”  
Skulduggery walked around and lifted up a photo, inspecting it. “And our fourth member? When will they be arriving?”  
Solomon scowled. “I don’t know. I got a call from them this morning. They’ve been caught up in some trouble.”  
Skulduggery frowned, crossing his arms. “Any trouble related to our expedition?”   
“Let’s just say, they were nearly intercepted. We’ll have to cope until they get here.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enter the mercenaries.

They left early in the morning at dawn, the sun lazily rising, its wide orange berth creeping over the horizon.   
They got seats in the back of the dusty bus, Skulduggery leaning into the hardly held together leather, shifting around until he let his hand fall against the grease stained window.   
Valkyrie sat in the seat in front of him, quietly talking to Solomon about the safety of their hideout in Halebidu, with him reassuring her of its concealment. But soon, their voices faded away, blending into the soft sounds of the open country.   
He must’ve dozed for a couple of hours as the sun is already high in the sky by the time he was awoken by the sudden sound of an car skidding past.   
Skulduggery heard the screech as the car slows down to the speed the bus was taking. He looked out, seeing Valkyrie’s confusement as well. He manages to clear away part of the smear of the window just in time to see the windows of the car roll down and machine guns suddenly appear.   
“Get down!” Skulduggery roared, throwing himself onto the ground just as the glass shattered, a blitz of bullets following. He sees Solomon follow him down, Valkyrie sheltered under his chest.   
He started up to see if a second round followed, only to duck down, a bullet whizzing past his hair. He looked around and suddenly saw a bleeding woman lying on the ground, eyes already dim.   
The bus veered suddenly to the left as the car slams into the side. Skulduggery winced as he felt his shoulder blades grate painfully as he was thrown into the wall.   
It’s then he spotted the driver slumped, leaning dangerously to the side, streams of blood dripping from the multiple dark holes in his shirt. His foot was still heavy on the accelerator.  
Skulduggery crawled up towards his seat, scratching his forearms on the glass shards litters on the ground. He reached the wheel just as the bus neared the end of the road, hurtling towards the edge of the hill.   
He shoved the body to the side, and slammed his foot on the brake. He violently jerked the wheel, stepping on the accelerator once more. He heard Valkyrie and Solomon finally returning fire as he sped back onto the road.   
The car shot into his vision, edging closer and closer to the side of the bus. He turned the wheel suddenly to the right, slamming into the car. The bus groaned under the impact, but the car swung out widely, the gunmen visibly falling back, losing their focus.   
“Pleasant, get close!” Solomon suddenly shouted, having reached the right side of windows and knelt, clutching something in his hand. Skulduggery didn’t question it, instead, swinging close to the car once more.  
A sudden cling sounded as something metal fell onto the floor and suddenly Solomon lobbed something into the car before crying, “Stop, stop, stop!”  
Skulduggery snapped his foot onto the brake, bracing into the seat for impact.   
The car raced ahead, before the driver realised something was wrong and begun to brake just as the explosion ripped through the car.   
Skulduggery shielded his eyes for a moment against the sudden burst of fire, the orange and red searing into his vision. He squinted then into the burning debris, searching for survivors. None.   
He turned back to look behind him, watching as Valkyrie and Solomon looked around for any living passengers, stepping over the fallen bodies. Valkyrie glances at him, eyes full of grief.   
“They wouldn’t have understood you,” She said, voice cracking. She hastily wiped away a tear, “Most of them died instantly in the first wave.”  
Skulduggery collapses heavily into the seat, resting his hand in his grazed hands.   
“We have to go Pleasant, the rest of them won’t be far behind. It shouldn’t be to far to walk from here.” Solomon said, casually reloading his gun.   
Skulduggery frowned at him. “And leave all of this people?”  
Solomon shrugged. “They’re dead, what does it matter? We all die at some point.”  
“It matters because they would’ve lived if it wasn’t for us!”  
“You’re right, so if we don’t go, they’ll have died for nothing.”  
Skulduggery spluttered but Valkyrie silenced him by resting a hand on his arm. She shook her head, instead handing him his bag. He stood up, silently fuming and waited for the both of them to leave.   
“I’m sorry. I tried. I always do. It’s rarely enough.”   
He left the fallen, stepping over the stained teddy bear, out onto the dirt track road and followed the others.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating for awhile, just been busy with coursework and all that stuff, but should be updating more regularly again. Hope you enjoy!

Vengeous was not easily scared. He’d faced hundreds of mercenaries over the years, marched into burning cities and battle zones alike.   
And yet, as he cautiously approached the room, wherein lay the snake of the man who he’d been employed by, Vengeous felt the pounding of his heart, the thin sheen of sweat trickling down his face.   
He entered the room slowly, hesitantly waiting for the suited man to turn around, clasping hs hands and digging his blunt nails into his weathered skin. He waited.  
A minute later, the man turned from the computer, eyes so sharply narrowed they looked like slits, emeralds peeking out.   
“Why are they still alive?” Serpine drawled out between gritted teeth.   
Vengeous licked his lips nervously. “I don’t control what Scarab doe-“  
Serpine held up a hand. “I did not ask you about that. I asked why.”  
“Because of Scarab’s incompetence.”  
“And whose fault is that?”  
Vengeous’s heart plummeted. “Mine. I hired him.”  
Serpine smiled. “Thank you for being honest.”   
The blow was to be expected. Vengeous didn’t flinch, face barely turning. He frowned, touching his cheek to bring back his fingers smeared with crimson droplets. He looked at Serpine, who’d produced a small white cloth, cleaning the rings, worth more than anything Vengeous had ever owned, on his fingers.  
“This is why I like you. You don’t hide your mistakes, you improve from them. You own up to them. Unlike Scarab.”  
Serpine’s brow furrowed at the mention of the man. “The nerve of that man. He actually tried to tell me it wasn’t his fault.”  
Vengeous remained straight faced. “How unprofessional.”  
“Thank you! That’s exactly what I told him,” Serpine replied, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation, before turning to him, “I’m sure you can imagine where he is now.”  
“I’m sure I have some ideas.”   
Serpine grinned, clapping his hands together. “Wonderful! Make sure you don’t follow.”  
“If I may be so bold, who will lead his mercenaries now he’s.. on a permeant vacation?”  
His boss laughed at that. “Permeant vacation, I like that. As for your question, his son has been promoted. For his sake, let’s hope he does better. Now.”  
Serpine walked over to the chair by the desk, picking up a black ballpoint pen from it’s case. “I trust you did not fail me on the other matter?”  
Vengeous shook his head. “No, sir. They caught her on the train through Siberia.”  
“And she’s been dealt with?”  
He shrugged. “Not by the men. She managed to get into our supply of RPG, and was obviously trying to detach a back carriage from the train.”  
“And?”  
“Instead, she brought down the entire train, her with it. We managed to recover footage.”  
“How marvellous! I wish I could see the look on their faces when they find out. In the meanwhile, I want the temple surrounded while our expert continues to search.”  
Vengeous gave a curt nod. “Of course, sir.”  
He walked as quickly as possible out of the room, trying to forget the sick glint in Serpine’s eyes as he watched the footage from the train crash.


	9. Chapter 9

Ghastly had known it was going too well. First, he, along with Hopeless, Dexter and Saracen, had got to Mexico without a problem, headed into the jungle, even narrowed down the location of the Lost City to a not unfathomable range of land.  
And so, should he really have been surprised when the ambush happened?   
Of course, it had to happen when they were crossing a rotting log over the gushing set of waterfalls.   
The bullet wizzed past, luckily nicking only his ear, but it was enough to make him lose his balance, causing him to slip off the already groaning log. He frantically grabbed at air and he was falling - falling - fall-  
A hand grabbed him, pulling him up to the log, just long enough for him to get his grip back, before the owner let go and returns to firing at the advancing mercenaries. He managed to swing one leg other, hanging on for dear life like some animal.   
Somehow, his gun hadn’t fallen out of his holster, so he pulled it out, flicking off the safety switch and fired continuous shots into the dense foliage from which the mercenaries were advancing from, striking down several at a time.   
Suddenly Saracen yelled, hand going to his shoulder, and Ghastly watched in horror as he turned, revealing an already dark stain blossoming like some macabre rose.   
“Gladys, we can’t hold them!” Dexter shouted, quickly reloading. Ghastly furiously tried to think of a plan.   
“Ghastly, come on, we have to go!”  
Reluctantly, he turned to run back to the side they’d come from when he had a sudden idea. “Dex, machete. “   
Dexter gave him questioning look but threw it over, helping Saracen to retreat back as he did. “What are you doing?”  
“Just keep going, as fast as you can,” he said as he started to tie the loose rope hooked onto his belt, “And dig this in,when you reach the other side.”  
He handed Dexter the hook, turning back. He tucked away his gun and held the machete high, swinging down into the ancient wood. The wood beneath his feet began to tilt, though only a little. He swung again and again, wood chips flying into his eyes, stumbling further forward as the log began to tilt even more.  
The mercenaries were close now, beginning to cross the log. He turned back to see Dexter and Saracen reach solid ground, Saracen collapsing in a heap as Dexter immediately dug the hook into the ground. Ghastly took a deep breath and sliced through the last tough sinews of the log and for a moment he saw the mercenaries freeze and suddenly there’s nothing but air beneath his feet, the sound of splintering deafening him.   
He clung onto the rope, hands already sore from friction, and swung dangerously near the cliff edge, managing to bend his knees to absorb most of the impact, flinching as his shoulder painfully hit the side.   
“Dex, if you wouldn’t mind.”  
No reply.   
“Dexter?”  
A pair of muscled arms appeared, dragging him up slowly but surely. He breathed a sigh of relief, letting his head fall into his chest in exhaustion.   
Ghastly grabbed the earthy terrain at the top of the cliff edge as soon as it appeared, somehow rolling onto the ground. He lay there for a moment.  
“We actually survived that.”  
The barrel of a gun suddenly appeared right in front of his temple. A blonde haired women stepped into view, giving him a smirk.   
“Oh hell.” He muttered, sitting up and spotting both Dexter and Saracen kneeling with two armed mercenaries.   
“Oh indeed. Welcome to hell.” The women agreed, motioning to a man to take his gun away.  
“You really think our friends won’t realise what happened. They’ll come after you.”  
“They’re welcome to come and have a go, if they think they’re hard enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I mention how much I love enemies to lovers relationships? I thought it would be cool to have Tanith in a villain role so there


End file.
